Fates Of Those Protected
by Ichigo and Hiyori
Summary: Naruto leaves the village after Sasuke defeats hime at the VotE, but runs into a few 'snags' in his plan. Is a certain blonde Jinchuriki the cause of these snags? Will she help to make Naruto strong enough to protect those close to him? Or will she just be a cause for Naruto's pain? And what will happen when a certain Yamanaka has something to admit? ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Alright, just a random story that I started writing down. Hope you enjoyed, though please point out any flaws/mistakes that I've made. R&R**

A man stood in an open field, his orange jumpsuit in tatters, his spiky yellow hair matted and dirty. Tears were rolling down his whisker marks from deep, cerulean eyes. He stood at the base of a large granite rock, hundreds of names engraved in it's surface.

"Jiji, I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you, I couldn't protect Neji, or anybody else on this mission, and I couldn't bring Sasuke back. I couldn't protect you, or anybody else that died in vain. I have to get stronger to protect everybody close to me, so I'm leaving the village, if only for a while," Naruto said, placing his headband at the base of the stone. He took out a scroll and wrapped the headband around it. If he knew his sensei well enough, he'd be by here in about an hour, which would give him a good headstart. He ran off, jumping into the trees, heading out of the village. Little did he know, his sensei was heading out early, so he could visit Naruto in the hospital where he was supposed to be.

_Hokage Tower, 15 minutes later_

Tsunade lay her head down on the table, it was 8 A.M. and she already wanted the day over so she could have some of her Sake. However, fate had other plans for her as a certain silver-haired, cycloptic, perverted jonin bust through her doors, throwing papers everywhere.

"Tsunade-sama! It's Naruto!" Kakashi yelled, panting for breath. He'd went to visit the Memorial Stone and he found Naruto's headband and a scroll at the base. Tsunade's head perked up at this; the onl thing that should be wrong with him is just a bit of soarness and pain, besides, she was to be notified immediately if something were to go wrong with his health.

"What's wrong?" Tsunade asked, a bit frantically. Kakashi pulled the headband and scroll and set them on her desk.

"I found his headband and this scroll at the Memorial Stone when I went there today. I didn't read the scroll because it's addressed to you," Kakashi said, worry and concern filling his voice.

"Naruto..." Tsunade drifted off as she read the note.

_Dear Oba-chan,_

_I guess by now Kakashi-sensei's found my note and headband, and I'll probably be about an hour away, though that's only if he follows his usual schedule. Baa-chan, I'm sorry about this all, I wish I could've protected everybody better. I should've been able to stop Sasuke, I should've been able to protect everybody on that mission, but instead, everybody was hurt. I couldn't protect Sasuke in the Forest Of Death, I couldn't protect Sakura, and most of all, I should've been able to protect Jiji from Orichi-teme. I'm sorry, but I'm resigning as a ninja, and am leaving this village to become stronger. Don't worry, I still have to become Hokage someday, and I'll come back every couple of months to visit, so you won't completely miss me. Don't worry, I've already left Jiraya-sensei his own personal note, and Kakashi-sensei's is in the seal at the end of the end of this letter. Baa-chan, thank you, for everything,_

_Sincerley,_

_Naruto Uzumaki._

Tsunade broke down in tears at the end of this, an inconsolable fit of crying. She handed the scroll over to Kakashi, and he read his own letter;

_Dear Kakashi-sensei,_

_I'm sorry you had to find out the way you did, but as I've told Baa-chan, I have to become stronger to protect those precious to me, and I resigned as a ninja so I could train in the different countries. I'll bring Sasuke back, dead or alive, I haven't decided yet, and I'll always visit. Don't worry, the next time we spar, I'll beat you, and that's a promise,_

_Sincereley,_

_Naruto Uzumaki_

At this point, Kakashi hd a fire burning in his eye.

"Tsunade-sama, I request an S-rank to look after Naruto on his trip," Kakashi said, a hin of detirmination in his voice. By now, Tsunade had regained her composure enough to think clearly.

"No, I'm sending Jiraya on that one. We need you here," Tsunade said.

"Fine, then I resign. One way or the other, I'm going to watch over Naruto, and you can't stop me," Kakashi said, matter-of-a-factly. Tsunade sighed, if she didn't give Kakashi the mission, she'd lose one of her best ninja, if she did, he'd be gone for who know's how long.

"Fine, you'll be going on the mission, but Jiraya is still going. Make yourselves known only when in a dire situation," Tsunade said, scribbling information on a blank scroll.

"Hai, I'll go get Jiraya-sama for the mission right away," Kakashi said, grabbing the scroll and disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

_With Naruto, 15 miles outside of Konoha_

"Oi, who's there?" Naruto said as he froze upon feeling two large chakra signatures flare up nearby. He stood on the path, drawing two kunai and holding them in a reverse grip. He heard a rustle in the bushes behind him, and immediately turned to the bushes.

"Hey, Bee-sensei, is he really a ninja? He has no headband, and he wears a horrid orange jumpsuit that paints a bullseye on himself," Naruto heard a feminine voice say from behind him.

"He's a ninja alright, and a damn tough one to kill. He's survived against Orichimaru, the Ichibi which he defeated on his own when it was in it's strongest form, taken an assasanation jutsu meant to kill, straight through his chest, and has still fought back, not once falling victim to the injuries he's sustained," another masculine voice said from behind him. He flared a bit f his chakra, knowing that he would be no match for two sources of strong ninja at once.

"Hey, whoever's there, I don't want a fight, just leave me on my way," Naruto said, hoping for the best possible outcome.

"Well, hello, Naruto Uzumaki, we've been looking a lot into your history, and you've been proven to be one hell of a ninja, so what we want to know is why are you leaving Konoha?" The masculine voice spoke out, staying hidden.

"Well, I need to get stronger. I couldn't protect Jiji from Orichi-teme, and I couldn't stop Sasuke from leaving the village for that snake bastard, so I need to get stronger," Naruto said, hoping this would be enough to get them to leave.

"Why. Why do you do this for the people that have hated you for most of your life," the feminine voice piped in, sounding curious as to the answer.

"Because, a ninja on my first C-rank ninja told me with his dying breaths that you are only truly strong protecting the ones close to you. Granted, these people may hat me, however, they help push me forward, inspire me to prove them wrong, to prove them I am not the Kyuubi!" Naruto yelled the last part out, getting excited.

"Hmm, very interesting. Your will is strong. Until we meet again!" The males voice yelled out, their presences disappearing completely. _Wierd, though there will probably be worse occasions later, _NarutoLittle did he know he would meet them again.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, kid, watch where you're going," a man grumbled as Naruto accidentally bumped into him.

"Sorry," Naruto grumbled, keeping his head down as he walked through the streets of Iwa. He had learned upon entering Iwa that he had looked alot like the Yellow flash, so he had died his hair black and threw a simple yet effective genjutsu to hide the cover of his eyes and make them look like they were green.

"Oi, buddy, what's with the genjutsu?" a ninja asked as he walked by.

"I'm, umm, hiding from an ex girlfriend," Naruto lied as he continued walking.

"Oh, good luck then, those whisker marks on your face will be a dead giveaway," the man advised, going on his way. Naruto kept moving, readjusting his new clothes. He had gtten them so that nobody could really track him. He hated losing his orange, but he had to grow up some time, so he chose a black T-shirt and dark blue Shinobi pants. They felt uncomfortable, but it had to be done. He had also picked up a black nodachi, and learned some basic kenjutsu.

"So, Naruto, when are you going to stop hiding from people?" a voice asked from a dark alley.

"When I get strong enough to protect the ones I carry close to my heart, you included, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto explained, fighting the urge to run as fast as he could.

"So, you've recognised me, that's good. You haven't completely forgotten. It's been two months, could you at least come back to visit?" Kakashi pleaded, staying in the shadows. Naruto paused as he was walking.

"I can't, I'll visit next month, I promise. Now, please, tell Baa-chan that I'm doing fine, and leave me alone. I'm supposed to meet my next sensei, so I have to go," Naruto said, continuing on his way.

"Fine, but I'll always be in th shadows if you want me to help train you," Kakashi said, disappearing farther back into the darkness.

"Alright, now go, I can't have you messing up my training in earth element. After this, I've got to head to Kumo and train in Lightning Element," Naruto explained, walking out of hearing distance. He continued on, getting closer and closer to the training grounds designated for the public.

"So, you did decide to come," a voice said as a woman with short black hair and black eyes, wearing the standard kunoichi outfit of Iwa.

"Yeah, I got a little hung up. So, how do I train in earth release?" Naruto asked, a bit uneasy with an Iwa ninja.

"Well, first you can remove that genjutsu over your eyes. I don't like it when I can't see somebody's true eyes. My name's Kurotsuchi, and from the info you've given me, you only go by the name of 'Fox' now?" Kurotsuchi asked, receiving a nod.

"Yeah, it's to help hide from certain people who are looking for me. The weird thing is, those same people I'm hiding from are the same ones that I want to become stronger to protect," Naruto explained, a sad smile covering his face.

"Yeah, well, I'm here to help. After all, I'm the best ninja in Iwa," Kurotsuchi said arrogantly. Naruto inwardly laughed; she was quite the character, slightly unpredictable.

"Well, lets get started then," Kurotsuchi said as she started to explain how to first mold earth chakra.

_Hokage Tower_

"You're sure about this?" Tsunade asked, looking at nothing in particular, rather just thinking.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. He said he'd visit next month. He also informed me of what exactly he'll be doing for the next few months, more specifically, elemental chakra training. You haven't told anybody about Naruto's 'special' chakra?" Kakashi asked as he stood in front of the Hokage's desk.

"Wait, how do you know about that?" Tsunade questioned. It was one thing to be his own doctor, but how exactly did Kakashi know?

"Well, when you're his sensei, you start to notice things. For example, when I first used my sharingan on the C turned A-rank mission, I noticed it. I thought I was just seeing things, but I wasn't, I had seen 20 different elemtents. Is it a kekkei genkai?" Kakashi asked, curious as to the origins of Naruto's weird chakra.

"Yes, it is, though I've been keeping it as quiet as I can with the council, and luckily, they are clueless. Though, if another village were to find out about it... I don't even want to think about it," Tsunade said, the thought of losing her godson was almost too much.

"Yes, I see. Well, I have to get back to Jiraya," Kakashi said, disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

_With Kurotsuchi and Naruto, 45 minutes later_

"Are you sure you have an affinity for earth?" Kurotsuchi asked.

"Wait, what's an affinity?" Naruto asked dumbly. Kurotsuchi just shook her head.

"An affinity tells you what type of chakra you can mold. For example, I have a couple different affinities, fire and earth being two of them," Kurotsuchi explained.

"So how do I tell my affinity?" Naruto asked. Kurotsuchi sighed and pulled out a sheet of brown paper.

"Simple, channel your chakra into this paper and I'll tell you what it is," Kurotsuchi explained simply. She handed Naruto the paper and he channeled his chakra.

"What affinity do I have?" Naruto asked as his sensei stared blankly. The paper had split into twenty different pieces, each one having a different affinity.

"Holy crap. Fox, you have twenty affinities, one for each element, sub-element, and tri-element.

"So, does that mean I have one for Earth?" Naruto asked, jumoing for joy when he saw his sensei nod.

"We're seeing the Tschukage immediately," Kurotsuchi said, grabbing Naruto's hand and transporting them both to the Kage's office.

"Oi, Kurotsuchi, don't you know how to use the door. And who's the kid?" a grizzly voice said from a chair.

"Sorry, Tschukage-sama, but it's important. This boy has _twenty _different affinities, including dust-release and lava-release," Kurotsuchi explained, causing a short old man to jump up from behind the desk. He had a big red nose and grey hair with the formal robes supposed to be worn by the Tschukage.

"You say twenty? That's impossible!" the Tschukage yelled. Naruto shifted uneasily, prepared to run in case of the worst scenario.

"Well, here's the evidence," Kurotsuchi said, pulling out the previously used chakra paper. She handed it to the old man, and the Kage nearly keeled over. To have this many affinities was unheard of.

"Son, what is your name?" The old kage asked.

"I-I only go by fox, to hide from the people looking for me," Naruto explained rather nervously.

"Who exactly is looking for you?" the elderly Kage asked.

"Lots of people. My village, for one, even though I resigned before running away. And then, of course, a group of S-ranked ninja known as the Akatsuki," Naruto said, avoiding specific facts.

"Ah, well young one, so long as you're staying in this village, then we will do our best to protect you," the Kage said, Naruto relaxing a bit at that.

"Thank you, Tschukage-sama," Naruto said, bowing in respect. The kage chuckled at this.

"Ah, yes, since I am the last remaining Dust release user, I shall train you myself. But, I need to ask you a question, has the Hokage figured out a way to get the paperwork done faster?" the elderly Kage asked, causing Naruto to sweat. "C'mon, boy, the way you look and act, I can tell you're from Konoha. Don't worry, I hold no ill will towards Konoha anymore, though I won't tell the Hokage that personally. So, did she find a way?" Naruto relaxd at the words a bit, though still uneasy.

"Well, she hasn't, but I think I have. Clones, not illusions, but solid clones. When they dispell, you can learn anything they had seen or done after they were produced," Naruto explained. He sweat dropped as he saw the old man walk over to a wall and slam his head against the wall saying baka over and over again. He walked back over to his desk, and sat down.

"Thank you, fox. That will definitely free up some time to train you. I'll start training with you tomorrow, 8 a.m sharp," The kage said, making Naruto smile. He was going to be personally trained by a Kage; that was an honor in itself, let alone being trained in a kekkei genkai that was rare to now two people.

"Thank you, Tschukage-sama," Naruto said, bowing again.

"No problem, just don't lose contact after you move on to the next ninja village," the Tschukage said, dismissing Naruto and Kurotsuchi, ushering them out of the office.

"So, I guess training is done for today. Have a good night's rest, because I'm training you in three elements tomorrow," Kurotsuchi said, receiving a nod and a bow fronm the former blonde boy.

"Hai, Kurotsuchi-sensei," Naruto replied, heading off towards his hotel. He smiled; by the time he was done in Iwa, he'd know at least 4 elements, though he now had to master fifteen extra affinities.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Alright, a few things to explain. Naruto's kekkei genkai is strong, but it has a very bad weakness. He can learn every elemental affinity(Not Yin and Yang because they're not an elemental affinity), however, it takes alot longer to master the manipulation. Alright, I'm also going to do alot of timeskips during the training times, though I'm going to be jumping to events through the training times to explain a few things. Thanks, hope you enjoyed, R&R**

_12 months later_

"Oi, Kakashi, are you sure he's ok? I mean, you haven't been able to locate him in nearly nine months, and he said he'd visit every three months, yet it's been 12 months and not so much as a word, " Tsunade asked worridly as she paced around her office, Kakashi standing lazily in front of her desk.

"Tsunade-sama, I've already told you, I can still sense his chakra, but I can't get an exact position on him," Kakashi sighed out, frowning underneath his mask. He'd been worried, but he still sensed his student's chakra. Tsunade stopped and was about to speak up, but a certain blonde man came crashing through the wall above the window, sending rubble and dust everywhere's.

"Did ya miss me?" Naruto asked, brushing dust and other rubble off of his clothes as he received a bone crushing punch from Tsunade, though he withstood it, not even flinching.

"Oi, Gaki, did you get stronger?" Tsunade asked, impressed by the blonde's defense against her famous punch.

"Yeah, I also learned several elements!" Naruto cheered in joy, watching as Tsunade smiled. He had grown, and she knew just who to test how strong he had grown.

"Oh, which ones?" Tsunade asked. Naruto just chuckled.

"Dust, Earth, Fire, Wind, Lava, and Water!" Naruto shouted in joy, though upon looking back on those memories of training, he inwardly frowned. He had had to literally exhaust himself each time he trained in order to make any progress, and even then the progress was minimal.

"So, I'm guessing you know? And since when did you dye your hair black, and when did you change clothes?" Tsunade spilled out, only a few of her thousands of questions.

"Hehe, I guess I should explain. I dyed my hair black since I apparently look like Yondaime-sama to the Iwa ninjas. I changed my clothes because if I'm going to become strong enough to protect the ones close to me, I have to grow up. And if you're talking about the nineteen different affinities, then yes, I know. That was one of the things I wanted to aske you about, actually," Naruto explained, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Tsunade laughed, he had changed, even growing strong enough to master 6 affinities.

"Hmm, you have grown up," Tsunade smiled, approvingly.

"Naruto, where have you been? I've been trying to locate you for nearly nine months, but haven't been able to find you," Kakashi said, happy his student was ok, but mad that he couldn't locate him.

"Ah, yes, I've been training under Kurotsuchi-sensei and Onoki-sama," Naruto explained. Tsunade laughed, he was already training under a kage.

"Amazing. Though, you're going to have some trouble finding teachers for some of the elements, since you killed off the last Ice-user(**counting Haku and the snow country ninja**), the last magnetism user was the Sandaime Kazakage who had died off long ago, the only known crystal-user is suspected to be one of Orichimaru's subordinates, the only known scorch-user is dead, the last Blaze-user is unknown to who it is, the only swift-user is a missing-nin who we can't track along with steel release and explosion release. Though I am a senju, I can't use any wood-release techniques, though I do know of a certa-" Tsunade was cut-off as an ANBU appeared from nowhere. "Ah, speaking of the certain ninja. Tenzo(**Yamato**), I request your time sometime in the near future to train Naruto here in Wood-release techniques," Tsunade explained, the ANBU nodding before disappearing, not saying a word as he disappeared.

"Not much of a speaker, is he?" Naruto asked, smiling sheepishly.

"Not today, though he'll be your sensei in the future for training wood-release," Tsunade said.

"Ah, I think I may know a few techniques that I've copied, though I can't use them, you might. Since my sharingan automatically copies techniques, I've copied a few kekkei genkai techniques. I'll teach you a few techniques later, though I have to ask you something; what happened? It usually takes only a few weeks to master elemental manipulation, what happened?" Kakashi asked, curious.

"I don't know, I just couldn't get the manipulation right, no matter how many clones I made or how long I trained," Naruto said, frowning at the memories.

"I think Mina-" Kakashi shut up as he remembered he was in the same room as his sensei's unknowing son.

"Who were you going to say?" Naruto asked, the partial name sounding familar.

"Umm, no one. Tsunade-sama, you had to add something? Kakashi said, disappearing out of the room. Tsunade sighed, this wasn't going to be easy, but he was strong enough to take on anything an assasin could throw at him, and more.

"Naruto, I have to tell you something. Sit down," Tsunade ordered, Naruto looking confused.

"What's up, baa-chan, is everyone ok?" Naruto asked, taking a seat in front of Tsunade's desk.

"Yes, everybody's fine. I think it's time you learned who you're parents were," Tsunade said, pausing for aruto to say anything.

"Wait, you knew? Why didn't you tell me?" Naruto asked, a bit upset.

"Yes, I knew who they were and the reason I didn't tell you was because they wanted your heritage kept secret until you're strong enough to protect yourself. Your parents were Kushina Uzumaki and Naruto Namikaze," Tsunade said, preparing for the worst. To say Naruto was awe-struck was an understatement; hundreds of emotions were running through him at the moment, the most common one was confusion. Confusion for why his father, the fourth hokage, sealed the Kyuubi into him. Confused as to why their names were kept secret. Why, just why.

"Why, I just want to know why he sealed the Kyuubi into me. Just answer me that," Naruto said, holding back the tears.

"Because of who Minato was. He couldn't ask anybody else to give up their child for the sealing, and he also knew that you would someday become strong enough to contain the Kyuubi's power and use it to it's fullest extent. He was hoping that you would someday surpass him, and right now, with your training, you have the potential to be 10 times stronger than he was," Tsunade explained, growing sad as Naruto broke down. He sobbed uncontrollabl for a few minutes before calming back down. "Alright, since you're calmed down, there is some good news; your father left you a house and scrolls, but there is one thing I have to give you; it's a scroll he made just before he died. It'll explain eve-" Tsunade was cut off as an ANBU appeared.

"Hokage-sama, the council is calling for an immediate meeting," the ANBU said, bowing in respect.

"Yes, well, tell those old bats that they can wait, I'm busy," Tsunade said, angered.

"Fine, I'll tell them, though it concerns Naruto as well," the ANBU added. Naruto bristled at this; he knew the council tried to get him killed, and he hated them ever since he found out.

"Tell that damned council they have no control over me, especially since I resigned as a ninja and now travel, so tell those bastards to shove it up their a-" Naruto was cut off from his rant as Tsunade cleared her throat.

"Yes, well just tell them Naruto is of no concern to them," Tsunade said, trying to be calm.

"Yes, hokage-sama," the ANBU said, disappearing.

"Baa-chan, that scroll can wait until after this meeting. I'm interested in what those bastards have to say about me," Naruto said, still bristling with anger. Tsunade sighed, she'd have to keep an eye on him during this meeting.

"Well, I guess I can squeeze you in as a clan head due to the Uzumaki blood in you and your kekkei genkai, though I'd keep the news on that down to a minimal," Tsunade advised, knowing how Naruto got when he was like this.

"Alright, but the second they start in on me, you better have a team of ANBU to hold me back," Naruto warned. He remembered a few times he got angry, and they never ended well.

"Good, now let's go," Tsunade said, grabbing Naruto's arm and sunshinning them to the council meeting. The council was confused to say the least. Who was the stranger with Tsunade, he looked painfully familar, but they didn't know who he was.

"Tsunade, who is this person you bring with you?" Hiashi asked, the first to speak up.

"Ah, yes, I forgot to introduce you. I would like you to meet the last of a great line of ninja, son of one of the greatest ninja in Konoha history, and so called demon brat, Naruto Namikaze!" Tsunade anounced, knowing the reaction she'd get from the council.

"Ah, yes, thank you Baa-chan, it's somewhat good to be back in the village. Since I'm an Uzumaki clan member, and I'm a citizen of Konoha that belongs to a clan, I am therefore a clan head. So, are yopu guys ready to get this meeting started?" Naruto asked, hiding his rage under a mask of indifference. He ignored the looks he was receiving and sat down in an empty chair next to Shikaku Nara at the end of the row, who had his usual look of boredom on his face.

"Hey, how's Shikimaru?" Naruto asked in a low whisper, surprising Shikaku.

"He's fine, though still a troublesome kid," Shikaku replied, causing Naruto to smile. Nara men were all the same.

"Ok, now that we're all settled in, let's get down to business. Naruto, since this meeting is about you, we request that you please keep quiet until the point of interest has been reached," Homura said, throwing a glare at the blonde, who just smiled in return, causing the elderly man frown in anger.

"Alright, the matter of the issue at hand is that a certain boy has a kekkei genkai that nobody knew of. Now, what I want to know, is why was nobody notified?" Danzo asked, standing up to speak. This had Naruto's anger rising, but he kept it in check to speak up.

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, only the third Hokage, Dad, Mom, and Kakashi-sensei knew of it, so, they had actually no reason what's so ever to tell you, especially since I'm no longer a shinobi of this village and can leave at anytime I want, with nothing keeping mefrom going," Naruto said, trying to keep from charging the elders.

"Then why didn't the Sandaime tell us?" Danzo shot back, "He was the village leader, we, as the village, should've known," Danzo finished.

"Well, maybe he knew a warhawk like you would try to train me as a weapon, just like your so-called disbanded 'Root' ANBU branch. I've killed off about twelve of them because they've attacked me for no reason," Naruto replied, killing intent rolling off of his voice. This caused the man to sit back down, a bit angered.

"Well, if that's all, then I guess you damned elders want the CRA enacted upon this man?" Tsunade shot out, receiving nods from the elders.

"Fine, then I'm cutting all political ties with this village. If I'm being forced to mate with women for more children with this kekkei genkai, then I shouldn't live here. I mean, Iwa is always looking for a strong ninja," Naruto said, smiling as he received the reactions he wanted.

"You got us. Quite a good amount of trickery you've played on us," Danzo said, smiling. This young man had become quite the cunning man.

"Thank you, though I'm serious. Either let me live here in peace and you guys gain kids when I find the right girl, or you continue with this CRA crap and I leave in hopes of a new village," Naruto threatened, knowing they wouldn't risk it.

"Fine, you win. Though, if by the age of 40 you haven't had a kid, we will force you to have one, one way or another," Koharu said this time.

"Fine, I'm good with that. Now, if this meeting is over with, I have to see a few people before I leave again," Naruto said, not waiting for an answer as he shunshinned away. The council, to say the least, were fuming, while Tsunade laughed her ass off. That gaki had finally been the one to get one on the council.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Alright, I've made some changes from the original plan, as with the pairing. I've been working hard on this chapter, and I hope y'all like it. If theres any holes in this chapter, please let me know in a review or a PM, doesn't matter to me. R&R**

"Naruto! Wait!" Naruto turned to the voice, finding Ino running towards him. He found she had grown a bit more, though not in a perverted sense of thought.

"Hey, Ino, how'd you know it was me?" Naruto asked, stopping at the village gates.

"I didn't, though my gamble worked," Ino said, catching up to the Jinchuriki.

"Damn. Well, I have to go, I have to get stronger," Naruto said, bidding Ino farewell.

"Naruto, wait. You can get stronger in the village," Ino said, grabbing his arm.

"I'm afraid not. I have to gain control over the elements, and the only way to do that is to find people outside the village to train with," Naruto said, trying to gently pull from Ino's grasp.

"Fine, but just to tell you, you're missed by everyone. Sakura nearly committed Suicide after both you and Sasuke left," Ino said, receiving a snort from Naruto.

"Since when does she care about me? All I've ever been to her is a punching bag," Naruto said, a sad look coming into his eyes.

"Yeah, but you were still her teammate. Besides, everybody in the rookie 10 were traumatized when you left. Kiba vowed that the next time he saw you, he was going to kick your ass, Shino showed no emotion, but his parents said they heard him crying at night for a week after you left. All Lee and Guy could talk about was how unyouthful it was, Tenten seemed a bit saddened, Shikamaru was bummed out even more, Choji, well, was Choji, Neji vowed to become stronger in your honor, Hinata hasn't left her family training ground, and Tsunade has had to go there in order to heal her from exhaustion," Ino explained, hoping that was enough to convince him to stay.

"Yeah, and what about you?" Naruto asked, curious. Out of all the Rookie 10, she was the only one she hadn't said anything about.

"I... I don't want to talk about it," Ino said, looking down to avoid Naruto's gaze.

"If you're trying to convince me to stay, you have to tell me about what you did," Naruto said, reaching out and pushing Ino's chin up to see her eyes. When he saw her eyes, his heart saddened as he saw tears streaming down her face.

"I broke down. For three months, had to have my meals brought to me because I didn't want to get out of bed. I just wanted to stay there and hoped that you would come back, the next day and everything would go back to normal!" Ino yelled out, nearly falling to her knees when Naruto caught her.

"Ino, I had no idea. I'm, I'm sorry," Naruto said, wrapping his arm around her to keep her standing. "I'll stay, ok? But this just means that I have to double time my training," Naruto said, causing Ino to brighten and smile at this. Naruto wiped the tears off her face and sent a sad smile back.

"Thank you, thank you!" Ino yelled out as she hugged Naruto tightly, crying tears of joy onto his shirt. Naruto couldn't help but smile as he hugged back. At that moment, a certain white-haired sannin decided to show up.  
"Hey Nar- You lucky do-" Jiraya was cut off as Naruto sent a rasengan into his sensei's stomach, sending him flying into the women's hotsprings. Jiraya's screams of pain were heard all through Konoha, and Tsunade laughed from her office; serves him right.

"C'mon! We have to let the rest of the rookies know!" Ino said, releasing the hug and dragging Naruto behind her as she ran towards the Akimichi BB-Q, knowing well enough that most of the others should be there for their weekly lunch. Naruto sweatdropped as he finally was able to walk, and was greeted by 10 glares.

"Uhh, hi?" Naruto said nervously as he sat down between Tenten and Ino, Tenten being oe of the lesser dangers.

"Don't hi us, where the hell have you been?" Kiba asked in quite a loud voice. Naruto got a little pissed at this; Tsunade should've told them what he was doing.

"Goddammit, I was training my ass off to become strong enough to prevent what happened on the last mission from happening again!" Naruto yelled back, causing Kiba to scowl and everybody elses mood lightened... slightly.

"You know, it's not just your job to prevent that, it's all of ours, you troublesome blonde," Shikamaru shot back, though still acting lazily. The rest of them nodded their heads in agreement.

"Ok. But I still have to become stronger, and there isn't a person here to stop me," Naruto said, cheering everybody up with his usual attitude.

"I'm still gonna kick your ass," Kiba grumbled, though not falling on deaf ears.

"Yeah, you and what army?" Naruto said, causing everybody to laugh. Kiba scowled, but calmed down.

"Baka," Sakura said, but smiling as she did so. Lee was eerily quiet during all of this, and it didn't go unnoticed.

"Hey, Lee, why are you so quiet. Usually by now you would've said something about yo-" Lee took this point to interrupt Tenten to speak.

"It's so youthful for you to have come back!" Lee yelled out, startling everybody. Choji broke out laughing, causing everybody to turn towards him in confusion.

"What's so funny?" Neji asked monotonously.

"Nothing, just that everything's back to normal," Choji said, smiling as he finished his Barbe-Q. _Yeah, I guess he's right, though I don't know if I can tell them about _it_ just yet. Maybe I'll tell them about my heritage, but not my kekkei genkai, _Naruto thought out, smiling to himself.

"So, Naruto, where have you been for the last fourteen months?" Hinata spoke up, no stutter or hesitance in her voice, not even as much as a blush.

"Well, I've been training in the elements under the Tsuchikage and a jonin," Naruto said, causing their jaws to drop. To be training in Iwa as an ex-leaf ninja was one thing, but to train under the Kage himself? That was unheard of!

"Wait, you trained in a village that hates us, and trained under the Kage of that village? You're crazy!" Kiba shot out, causing murmurs of agreement throughout the group and a concerned look from Ino.

"Nah, just extremely lucky, though I did find out two things on that trip," Naruto said, causing everybody to look at him confused.

"Well, on top of learning 4 elements, I learned that to Iwa ninja, I look a lot like the Yondaime, and two, I learned that I'm his son," Naruto replied, causing shock to go through the group. He was the son of the Yondaime? Why wasn't he treated like royalty instead of the way he had been treated?

"Wait, then how come it wasn't made public, and why weren't you treated like royalty?" Shino asked in his usual voice.

"Because of Iwa's hatred towards my dad, and the other reason, I really don't feel like explaining," Naruto replied, receiving a glare from Ino.

"C'mon, save yourself some trouble and just tell us. If you want, we won't tell anybody outside of the rookie 11," Ino pleaded, the so-called puppy dog look in her eyes. Naruto just steeled his nerves; after what the villagers did to him, he couldn't risk that with his friends.

"No. Not in a million years," Naruto said in a no room for argument voice. Ino looked downtrodden, but Naruto just tried to ignore it. He couldn't tell them. "How about we have a 'little' spar after lunch? Say, 10 on 1?" Naruto asked, trying to change the subject.

"Wait, you think you can take on all of us at once? You truly are crazy," Kiba said, getting ready to walk away.

"How about this, if you win, I'll tell you the other secret," Naruto said, causing a stir of interest through the group.

"What if we lose?" Ino asked, perking up at the thought of winning.

"Well, all you have to do is stop bugging me about the secret if you lose," Naruto replied, causing a murmur of agreement ring through the group.

"YES! THIS WILL BE A YOUTHFUL BATTLE!" Lee shot up out of his seat, nearly taking the entire table with him. Choji nearly cussed him out, had it not been for his mouth full of food.

"Lee, sit down. Let everybody finish first, then we can fight," Naruto said, trying to calm the green beast down. It was to no avail as the Guy mini-me ran off at top speeds.

"Well, we'd better get going. Knowing Lee, he'll tire himself out before we even start," Tenten said, making to leave.

"Yeah, Tenten's right. C'mon Choji!" Naruto said, following as the rest of the group made to leave. Choji grudgingly left the Barbe-que, following the team to training ground 7. Naruto gave a quick look of indifference as he entered the place; no good memories came from this dreaded place.

"YOSH, YOU GUYS FINALLY MADE," Lee shot out as he entered the clearing. Naruto stood at the entrance of the clearing as the others grouped together, formulating a plan.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu," Naruto whispered, creating 9 clones that already understood his plan, waiting for the moment to attack as they formed up. "Let's get this party started!" Naruto yelled as the group took a similar formation. Naruto nearly received a jaw-shattering punch as Lee shot forward, having already taken off his weights. Naruto could only dodge punch after punch, moving skillfully through the punches as Lee continued his onslaught, and his clones had already taken out Sakura, Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru.

"YOSH! I'M GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE THIS UP A NOTCH!" Lee yelled as he tried to pick up the speed, being stopped by a fist slammed into his ribs.

"Lee, I'm sorry to break this to you, but I'm the one taken it up a notch," Naruto said, starting an onslaught on Lee's ribs before sending the bushy-browed man back into a tree, barely hanging onto conciousness.

"My time," Kiba said, charging at the blonde who turned quickly. Akamaru was still occupied with one of Naruto's clones. Kiba started his attack, but was shut down as Naruto slammed a fist into Kiba's skull, knocking him out. Naruto received a quick flash of information as Hinata and Neji destroyed four clones, leaving 3 to fight.

"C'mon, Neji. It's rematch time!" Naruto yelled as one of his clones occupied Hinata again and he charged Neji. Neji smiled and just as Naruto was close enough, Neji rotated at nearly unperceivable speeds, smirking. His smirk turned into a frown as the Naruto charging puffed, and he stopped rotating. Bad mistake on his part, as Naruto moved faster than any shinobi should and laid Neji out, unconcious. Naruto barely had time to react to move Neji out of the way of a halestorm of Kunai as Tenten went on the attack. Naruto remembered Tenten's preliminary match and recalled her weakness was wind, and formed silent handseals as he released bullets of air at the next barrage of kunai, blowing them away. Before Tenten could land from the attack, Naruto rushed and sent a roundhouse kick into Tenten's side, sending her into a tree.

"Alright, Shino, Hinata, let's give it our all," Naruto said, dispelling his clones. He knew this would be a true challenge, as he was facing all ranges of attacks for this battle.

"I'll be giving it my all, Naruto," Hinata said, charging in her family's aijutsu style. Naruto noted that it had become alot better, though it still had the same weaknesses as Neji's. Naruto barely noted that his huge chakra reserves were depleting as Shino's bugs latched onto him. He smiled as he dodged each jab thrown at him, batting away her punches like they were nothing. He was about to give the knock out punch, when the loss of chakra fatigued him, and he fell face first onto the ground in front of him as the bugs flew back to Shino.

"We wo-" Hinata was cut off as a poof of smoke appeared where 'Naruto' lay, and Shino was sent flying, knocked out from a crunching punch. Naruto quickly moved in and knocked Hinata out cold.

"Maybe I went a bit too far," Naruto said aloud as he looked at the unconcious bodies of his friends. He smiled; maybe he'd tell them after all their effort they put in.

**AN: Alright, thats a wrap. Hope you all enjoyed, thanks for reading, can't wait to hear what you guys think about it.**


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